Love in Retrograde (7 page)

“Soldiers like Mars, officers from Project Saturn? They will be treated like the weapons they wield, and no one would suspect that these are sentient beings. Do you really think society will be privy to the filtering process?”

Of course it wouldn’t.

“Mars and those who follow will be controlled by fallible humans. Can you imagine an army of beings with no souls? They’ll feel no remorse. No empathy. They’ll be nothing but instruments of destruction and death, the first being their own humanity. I’m going to make certain none of that happens. I won’t allow them to kill Mars.”

“Jordan, whatever you’re thinking, forget it. You can’t go up against these people.”

Jordan continued as if Kelly hadn’t spoken. “I suppose I can’t be too upset with you. You’ve given Mars a great gift. Even if he’s left with a broken heart, at least he’s had the joy of experiencing love, even for a little while.”

“Jordan? Jordan!” The line went silent, and Kelly jumped out of bed. “Damn it!” He paced the room, unable to believe what Jordan was about to do. Kelly couldn’t do any more for him. What did Jordan expect him to do? Two men against a military force? They’d never succeed. Sleep. He’d go to sleep. No matter how much his heart was fighting him on this, he had to stay out of it. He’d already screwed things up with Mars. It had to end.

KELLY COULDN’T
sleep.

For hours he tossed and turned, tried not thinking—a laughable attempt—and even considered taking something to make him sleep, but he was too edgy. All he could think about was Mars and Jordan. What if they made Jordan disappear? What if he showed up facedown floating in the Thames? How would Kelly face Lucius knowing he’d done nothing? Sitting up, he tapped his nightstand’s interface. A groggy voice answered.

“What?”

“Lucius, Jordan is going to get himself killed.” Kelly relayed his conversation with Jordan, not leaving anything out, not even the part about Mars. He confessed everything. “I know I messed up, but you have to do something to stop him, or you’re going to lose him for good.” There was a long pause on the other end before Lucius replied.

“He’s on his way home now. Leave it to me. He’ll probably kick my arse to the curb after this, but if it’s to keep him safe, then it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. If I’m not in first thing, you’ll have to cover for me. Make certain Mars is on that transport. Once he’s gone… there will be no finding him.”

Kelly’s heart splintered in two. This was for the best. He promised he’d do his part. Whatever Lucius was up to, he hoped the man would be there as soon as he could. Having Lucius present would help fortify his nerves. He doubted he’d be needed, but just in case.

The next morning, everything was off to a shitty start. Kelly had arrived at work only to be told he’d be standing in for both Jordan and Lucius, since neither had shown up for work. As Dr. Skye’s assistant with clearance on Project Mars, Kelly would be attending the “filtering” process for Mars.

The room was as clinical as it could get. A white lab with gleaming glass fixtures, glass interface panels, glaring white lights, and at the center a padded white chair with steel clamps. The society director entered, followed by a group of highly decorated and strict-looking government officials.

“Dr. Sutton, this is the director general, Sir Carlton Preston, the intelligence service commissioner, Sir Ingmar Sherman, and the chief of defense staff, Dame Arline Abraham.”

All parties nodded their greetings, and the society director extended a hand. “It’s time. Please, if you will, Dr. Sutton. They’re most keen to inspect their investment before the test run.”

Investment. That’s all Mars was to them. It made Kelly feel sick. Holding his tongue, Kelly nodded, leaving the director to kiss ass and escort the officials to the observation room at the end of the lab. Mars stood stock-still, his expression stern and his gaze straight ahead as he was poked and prodded by several researchers. He appeared indifferent. A stone statue.

A tall dark-haired man in a white lab coat tapped away at one of the glass interfaces.

“Let’s begin the filtering process. Dr. Sutton, strap the specimen into the chair, please.”

Kelly motioned to the chair, but Mars didn’t move. Hesitantly, Kelly placed his hand on the small of Mars’s back, causing him to draw a sharp breath before he moved forward. He took a seat on the chair and lay back as the biotechnicians explained to the government officials which cells they would be neutralizing.

Couldn’t they see the pain in Mars’s eyes? The fear?

Mars had experienced so much in his short time on this planet. How could those bastards ignore it all? How could they live with themselves knowing they were about to destroy a man’s humanity?

Kelly leaned into Mars as he tapped the clamps shut around Mars’s wrists. “Why are you letting them do this to you? You’re stronger than all of them. You can get out of here.”

“I want them to reprogram me,” Mars replied quietly.

“What? Why?” How could he accept his fate so easily? With all the power inside him, how could he just lie there and surrender?

“Because then the pain in my heart will stop, and although you may doubt its existence, it’s as real as the tears in your eyes.”

Kelly blinked, unaware that he indeed did have tears in his eyes. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He quickly wiped at his eyes before he finished tapping the clamps shut over Mars’s ankles. He lingered by Mars’s head, his fingers itching to soothe him. “I’m sorry.”

“We will now initiate the preliminary sequence.”

Kelly stepped to one side near the two guards stationed by the door. This was how it had to be. The fact Mars loved him didn’t change anything. The man had been engineered. He had a greater purpose, and it wasn’t to live happily ever after with intern Kelly Sutton.

Coward.

No. You’ve always avoided the tough decisions, never took any chances,
always afraid of the repercussions, of getting into trouble. You’ve always played it safe.
Kelly glanced over at Mars and received a sad smile.
You’re just going to let him die?

Kelly let out a shaky breath and calmly turned to one of security guards. “Excuse me, I’m really sorry, but I’m not feeling well. I think I might….” He punched the guard across the face, cursing at the pain that burst through his hand.
Son of a
—That freakin’ hurt! It looked so damn easy in the movies. Kelly swiped the guard’s gun and the light Taser at his side. Spinning, he pressed the button on the light Taser just as a second guard ran into it. Well that was fortunate. The guy convulsed and hit the floor hard, landing next to his unconscious companion.

“Sorry.” Pocketing the Taser, Kelly turned the gun on his horrified-looking coworkers. “All right, everyone on your knees. Now!”

The startled technicians put their hands behind their heads and lowered themselves to their knees.

“I’m so sorry. I really am. But I can’t let you do this.” He backed up and tapped the keypad beside Mars’s chair. The steel clamps opened.

Mars sat up and took Kelly’s wrist. “What are you doing?”

“Find us a way out of here.”

Alarms blared through the room, emergency lights blinked, and Mars stood, his gentle eyes filled with worry. “Why are you doing this? You’re risking everything.”

“I’m sorry for what I said. I never thought you incapable of love. In fact, you’re the most amazing guy I’ve ever met. I’d really like the opportunity to earn that love of yours.”

The director appeared, his face burning red with his anger. “You’ve got to be bloody kidding me. What is this, a bloody BBC drama? He’s a weapon!”

Mars let out a feral growl and snatched a hold of the director’s collar. He lifted him off his feet. “I am
not
a weapon!”

“Mars! We have to—”

The lights in the room flickered, and Kelly heard the locks bolting shut, trapping them inside. Through the speakers, Director General Preston’s gruff voice chastised him.

“You stupid boy. There’s nowhere for you to run. Turn yourself in, and we might consider leniency.”

Kelly took a step back as green gas began to emerge through the vents. Shit, it couldn’t be over. Not yet. He spun to Mars, who appeared unfazed by the gas that was about to knock them all out. Joining Mars at the panel by the door, Kelly watched anxiously as Mars’s amber eyes glowed blue.

A click met Kelly’s ears, and he couldn’t help his grin. The large steel door opened, and the gas turned off. A series of panicked shouts caught his attention. The gas turned on inside the observation room, where all the government officials scrambled to the locked door. They called security, ordering them to break them out.

This was his chance.

“Stay close,” Mars ordered.

Kelly wasn’t about to question him. He ran after Mars, but not before snatching a handheld glass tablet off one of the petrified technicians. As they hurried down the corridor, Kelly tried to access the network, but his clearance had already been revoked.

“Shit. They cut me off.”

Mars paused, his eyes glowing blue just before the building’s floorplans popped up on Kelly’s tablet. That whole glowing eyes thing was going to take a little time to get used to. They had a hell of a long way to go. On their way to the stairs, they ran past the bioengineering nanotech lab. Kelly came to an abrupt halt.

“The labs.”

“We should go,” Mars replied, taking hold of Kelly’s wrist.

“No, you don’t understand. We have to destroy it all. They’re going to make more of you. More soldiers who’ll become sentient and then have their humanity taken from them.”

Mars’s eyes turned blue, and Kelly understood its implications. Before he could utter a word, Mars marched into the lab. He gritted his teeth and appeared to focus. Kelly was about to ask Mars what he was doing when the lights flickered and the equipment around the room began to pop and fizzle. The glass panel interfaces came to life, information scrolling at unreadable speeds until only the words “No files found” were displayed across all of them. As Mars walked out, anything that was of any value burst into shards of useless biotech.

“Kelly?” Jordan’s voice came through the speaker of his tablet.

“I’m here.”

“The building has been evacuated. I’ve made arrangements, but you must get to St. James’s Park. You can lose yourselves in the crowd, but you have to hurry before the rest of the military’s reinforcements arrives.”

“Got it.” Kelly handed the tablet to Mars. “Find us a way out of here.”

Mars brought up the infrared feed of the building’s security, and Kelly wished he hadn’t seen what was in front of him. The whole damned army had been called in. Heavily armed soldiers flooded into the building, making their way up the elevators and stairwells. Through the speakers, an order for their apprehension was given.

“Priority Mars. To be apprehended alive and sedated. Dr. Sutton to be apprehended dead or alive.”

Kelly swallowed hard. “Dead?” They were going to shoot him on sight, weren’t they?

“Kelly.” Mars took hold of his arms, his gaze hard. “I won’t let them hurt you.” He pulled Kelly along with him as they ran through the emergency exit and down the stairs. They had to find a way out of this together. He was under no illusion they wouldn’t shoot him on sight, and if they got their hands on Mars, Mars would be as good as dead anyway.

IT WAS
like he was in some live version of a video game. With every door they went through, Mars would tap into the network and close another somewhere else. They ran down corridors, doors opening and closing left and right. Mars would open one while simultaneously shutting off the way to the approaching soldiers. Mars worked on their exit, doing his best to stay ahead of the ever-nearing mass of armed men. Despite his ability to dispatch the soldiers, Mars refused to hurt them. They were under orders, just as Mars had once been.

When they reached the twenty-first floor, their luck ran out. The floor was a canteen with very few doors and only two exits, both of which were blocked.

“There’s no way out,” Kelly said, pushing against one of the glass-paned windows. Everything was sealed shut. Even if they could go through a window, where the hell would they go? It was a straight drop down to the sidewalk. Across at St. James’s Park, hundreds of people had gathered, and it looked as if the police were having trouble containing them. Above them, the nanoparticles in the sky rolled news footage of Kelly’s supposed loss of senses, an unstable American intern who attempted to unleash havoc upon the city. Why did they have to say he was American? As if that explained the crazy.

“I found a way out. Hurry.” Mars led him to the center of the floor, the sound of battering rams slamming into fire doors resounding around them. Kelly said a quick prayer as Mars’s eyes glowed blue and he took a deep breath before crouching down to place his palms against the floor. Kelly was so not ready for whatever Mars was about to do, but they had little choice in escape routes. The thick nanoglass floor pulsed and vibrated before shattering. Kelly let out a yelp as the floor beneath his feet burst and they went crashing down onto the floor below, where Kelly landed in Mars’s arms, the air rushing from his lungs. Mars carefully stood and placed him on his feet before hurrying him to one of the exits.

Just twenty floors to go.
We’re going to make it.
He had no idea what the hell he was going to do once they were outside, but as long as Mars was with him, they’d figure it out.

Mars continued his game of opening and shutting doors, his grip firmly around Kelly’s wrist. There was nowhere he turned without Kelly at his side. On the tenth-floor stairwell their exit was blocked. Mars didn’t hesitate. He jumped the rail and landed below them on the seventh floor, his heavy boots not making a sound on the tile floor.

“Jump!”

If he wasn’t currently being hunted down, Kelly would’ve suspected this to be the most terrifying moment of his life. With Mars’s reassurance, Kelly took a deep breath and jumped to the sound of gunfire. Mars caught him and placed him on his feet without missing a beat. They ran down the stairs until they reached the ground floor, where Mars pulled Kelly into the security office behind the lobby. The two guards inside were hauled off their feet and flung out the door before they knew what hit them. With the reinforced nanoglass door sealed, there was no way in or out. The lobby was filled to capacity with armed soldiers. They were trapped.